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Suspect Claims He Ran Over Mother By Accident

SNOW HILL – A
Pennsylvania man charged with first-degree murder for allegedly running over
his elderly mother several times late Tuesday night stuck to his story the
incident was just an accident during a bond review hearing in District Court in
Snow Hill early yesterday morning.

Steven Frederick Molin,
58, of Darby, Pa., charged with first- and second-degree murder and
manslaughter in the death of his mother Emily Belle Molin, 85, also of Darby,
remained behind bars yesterday after he was ordered held without bond during a
bail review hearing in District Court.

During what is typically
a short, formal proceeding, District Court Judge Gerald Purnell granted Molin a
little leeway to address the court and the accused murderer continued to assert
the death of his mother was “just an accident,” as he had done a day earlier
when interviewed by detectives.

Shortly before midnight
on Tuesday, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office responded to a serious motor
vehicle accident on Carey Rd. in Berlin. The investigation revealed Steven
Molin was the driver of the vehicle. Molin explained to Worcester County
Sheriff’s deputies his mother had fallen out of the vehicle while it was moving
and that he had backed up when he realized she had fallen out of his vehicle.
However, a Worcester County Sheriff’s Office accident reconstructionist
responded to the scene and began to discover evidence the elderly Molin had
been driven over two or three times before the vehicle came to a stop.

At that point, the
Worcester County Bureau of Investigation (WCBI) was notified and responded to
the scene to assume control of the investigation and begin interviewing Molin
about the incident. A WCBI forensic detective identified evidence that was not
consistent with Molin’s version of the story. Based on the interview with the
suspect and the forensic evidence collected at the scene, Molin was arrested
and charged with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter.

Molin was taken into
custody and held pending the outcome of a bond review in District Court
yesterday. Dressed in a drab green prison jumpsuit and handcuffed, Molin took
the opportunity to reinforce his claim the incident was just an accident.

After Molin told the
judge he wished to have representation appointed for him, he asked permission
to address the court. Molin explained he was a high school graduate who
finished 13th in his class and that he was a registered master
plumber. He then went into a description of the events leading up to the
incident a day earlier in a somewhat untypical departure from a bond review
hearing.

“I’ve been taking care
of mom since 1981, the same year my dad died, and it was customary for me to
take her out on drives,” Molin told the court. “I’ve been taking care of her
and I fixed up her house. On the day of the accident, I was taking her to visit
my father’s grave in Berlin.”

Purnell said the purpose
of the hearing was to determine if Molin should be released on bail, and if so,
what an appropriate amount for the bond should be. The judge advised Molin it
was not the time to discuss the facts of his case.

Nonetheless, the accused
murderer pressed on to explain the events.

“Earlier in the day, I
had an accident in the same vehicle and the door wasn’t working right,” he
said. “It was just an accident. She suffered from Alzheimer’s and she was
playing with the windows. I don’t know how she fell out of the vehicle. It was
an accident.”

Purnell ordered Molin
held without bond until his preliminary hearing set for Sept. 30.

In the meantime, WCBI
detectives are still actively investigating the incident and are asking for
help from the public. WCBI detectives are asking anyone traveling on Carey Rd.
between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1 who might have seen something suspicious to call
WCBI at 410-352-3476 or the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office at 410-632-1111.